Results

In my previous blog post, I made a strategy for planning my assignments for the single source project. To keep track of assignments I used the calendar app on my mobile device. The result is that this strategy worked…sort of. The way that I approached this strategy was to put the major assignments due each week as an ‘all-day’ event on the date that the assignment is due with the time due as part of the assignment title. This way I know when all my assignments are due and can plan accordingly. That is the key part, plan accordingly. That is the part of my strategy that did not pan out the way that I wanted it to. Instead of assigning a time slot each day to work on my assignments I reverted to my old habits of “winging it” so to speak. I knew when the assignments were due, and I worked on them each week, but the use of my calendar did not help because I used this tool ineffectively to claim total success in planning.

A Different Method of Planning

Though I did not use my calendar effectively, I did work on assignments each week and kept track of them in a different way. The single source project is a group project which involves collaborating with group members to ensure that each part of the project is complete. Using scheduled team meetings and staying in contact using Microsoft Teams (Teams) helped me to keep on track with my assignments and forced me to work on them after work each day. In a professional setting this method would not work as a primary method of keeping track of projects but can be a useful tool to supplement more effective primary tools such as calendar apps, project management software such as Atlassian’s Trello or Jira, and even the old school paper day planner. In this instance, using Teams communications and team meetings worked only because others were counting on me to pull my weight in the single source project. This method by itself is ineffective for planning. That being said, this method can be used in conjunction with better tools designed specifically for planning a project out. Most importantly it requires personal accountability to follow through with a strategy. If the strategy does not work after putting serious effort into it, then it is okay to develop a new strategy. The proverbial old college try is insufficient.

Looking Forward

As the second 8-week term comes to a close, and having higher scores for the other three categories, it is in my best interest to continue working on a strategy for planning. With the remaining three weeks that we have in this term, I will try to use the calendar method more effectively by assigning time slots each week for the remaining projects as well as the project due dates. The next few weeks will be extremely busy for me academically and personally. Following through with a strategy for planning is absolutely crucial to my success in everything that I have going on right now.